Apparatus for fastening open heel footwear, including swimming fins

ABSTRACT

Footwear, such as a swimming fin, is described with a mechanical clamp for fastening to a user&#39;s foot, the mechanical clamp being operable between a fastening position and a release position by the user&#39;s other foot.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises improved apparatus for the fastening orattachment of footwear such as may be used for various sportingactivities, including skiing, underwater diving, swimming, fishing,snowboarding and so on. The invention finds a particular application inrelation to swimming fins.

Swimming fins, also commonly referred to as “flippers”, are generallyprovided with a large propulsion portion in the form of a flexible blade(the fin), which itself has an integral foot receiving area with openheel. Conventionally straps are provided which span the back of the openheel to secure the user's foot once located within the integral rootreceiving area.

In the present invention it is recognised that these straps, andparticularly their need to be tied or buckled with the employment of theuser's hands, are associated with several disadvantages. For example,divers may be required to carry heavy and cumbersome equipment,affecting their balance and manoeuvrability. Usually this equipment isadorned by the diver prior to the fins being worn. In order to put onthe fins and fasten them to the diver's foot using straps or otherfastening means heretofore known, the diver is required to rely onassistance from another person or to crouch down, probably with all orat least the majority of his own weight and the weight of his equipmenton one leg. This difficulty must be considered not only in calm beachconditions, but also on rocks potentially buffeted by waves and or ofslippery or hazardous surface from seaweed, barnacles and so on. Similardifficulties are encountered in boats where level and stable footingsmay be unavailable.

There have been many accidents, some even fatal, caused by diversslipping or otherwise losing their balance and it is apparent that thesimple adorning of fins should not be a strenuous activity, particularlyprior to diving where regular and calm breathing cycles are desired.

Typical fastening means known to the art may be examined in U.S. Pat.No. 5,545,067 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,384. In both these prior artpublications the fastening means substantially comprises of a strap.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved means forsecuring a person's foot in footwear, such as a swimming fin. A furtherobject is to provide a means for securing a person's foot in footwearwhich may be easily fastened and released without or with minimal use ofthe person's hands. A further object of the present invention is toreplace the need for straps, which require to be tied or clipped, with amechanical clamp requiring no such tying during normal use.

According to the present invention there is provided footwear comprisinga foot receiving portion having an open heel area and fastening meansfor securing a user's foot within the foot receiving portioncharacterised in that the means substantially comprises a mechanicalclamp.

Preferably the clamp is operable between a first non-securing positionwhereat the clamp does not interfere or impede the access or removal ofthe user's foot to or from the foot receiving portion to a secondsecuring position whereat the clamp presses against the heel portion ofthe user's foot such that the foot is retained or secured within thefoot receiving portion.

The clamp may be biased to move toward the aforesaid second positionwhenever the clamp is not located in the aforesaid first position.

Advantageously the clamp may be operable between the aforesaid first andsecond positions by the use of the user's other foot.

Optionally, the footwear is a swimming fin.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to provide a better understanding of the invention, embodimentswill now be described, by way of example only, with reference to theaccompanying Figures, in which:

FIGS. 1a and 1 b show side elevations of a swimming fin comprising afastening clamp in accordance with the invention wherein the clamp is ina first non-securing position and a second securing positionrespectively, and

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of a swimming fin also comprising a fasteningclamp in accordance with the invention but of alternative embodiment tothat shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the Figures, footwear generally referenced 1, is shown inthe form of a swimming fin. The fin 1 is provided with a large blade 2for assisting propulsion, the blade 2 incorporating a foot receivingportion 3. Access of a user's foot 10 is enabled through the open heelarea 4.

In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, a fastening means isformed as a rigid clamp 5. The clamp 5 is moveable between a firstnon-securing position (FIG. 1a) whereat the user's foot can gainunimpeded access or release into or out of the foot receiving portion 3and a second securing or clamping position around the heel or archillestendon of the user. In FIG. 1b the clamp 5 is shown in this secondposition.

The clamp 5 is of a generally “C” or “U” shape, having two arms 5 a anda brace 5 b. Each arm 5 a is pivotally anchored at a respective point A.In the embodiment of FIG. 1 there is provided a rubber or elasticisedspring 6 which biases the clamp 5 toward the second securing positionwhen the clamp is not located in the first position. At the firstposition, the clamp 5 is in equilibrium. The spring 6 is held undertension and is linked between an anchor point B on the upper side of thefin 1 and anchor point C on the clamp arm 5 a. A second spring (notshown) is provided in like manner but on the rear side of the fin whenviewed from the perspective of FIG. 1.

In use, a user's foot is inserted into the foot receiving portion 3 viathe open heel area 4 while the clamp 5 is in the first position shown inFIG. 1a. Notably, for such time as the clamp is in the first position,the spring 6 does not apply a moment about the pivot anchor point A, andthus although the spring is held under tension, the clamp 5 remains atequilibrium in the first position.

Once the user's foot is appropriately inserted into the receivingportion 3, the clamp 5 may be nudged upwardly, that is in a clockwisedirection relative to FIG. 1, to such extent that the spring thereafterrotates the clamp 5 until the brace 5 b locates behind the user's heelor archilles tendon. The fin is then appropriately fastened or securedon the user's foot. To remove the fin, the clamp 5 is released bypulling the clamp 5 away from the user's heel at the second positiontoward the first position.

Thus, the clamp fastening means may be operated simply by pushing,pulling and/or nudging the clamp 5 between its two respective operatingpositions. Most importantly, this may be done by the user's other foot,whether wearing a fin or not, and does not require to employ the user'shands or those of an assistant. No crouching or bending is needed,rendering the fastening means considerably advantageous over the knownart, not only in terms of convenience but also in terms of safety.

The fastening apparatus of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 can alsoinclude suitable means for adapting the tension of the spring to suit aparticular user's foot size. This may be achieved by pinching the spring6, for example, to reduce the stretch or elasticity of the spring 6.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the spring 6 is replaced by a ratchetmechanism generally described at 7 and comprising a toothed lock 8 atthe pivotal anchor point A and a locking bar 12 held by a retainingspring 9 which engages with the lock 8 to prevent movement. A releaseclip 11 serves as a grip for disengaging the locking bar 12 when it isdesired to move the clamp 5 from its present position to its alternateoperable position. Again the clamp 5 is operable between a non-securingand securing position, its position being held stable by the ratchetmechanism 7.

It is recognised herein that this second embodiment of the invention,again given as an example only, may be less desirable than the firstembodiment as the release of the locking bar may employ, albeitmomentarily, the user's hands.

Nevertheless, in both of the described embodiments conventional strapsare replaced by a clamp mechanism requiring little time and effort tooperate. By this it is anticipated that the particular and recognisedhazard of putting on fins, particularly while laden with heavyequipment, is mitigated to a great extent.

It is to be appreciated that notwithstanding the described embodimentsrelate to a swimming fin, the invention also may find application inrespect of other footwear, including skiing, skating and skateboardingor snowboarding footwear. The invention may be beneficial where a userwears an inner and an outer boot, the outer boot incorporating theinvention.

Similarly, references herein to “swimming fins” should not be deemed tolimit the use of fins incorporating the invention to swimming in anynarrow sense. Rather such swimming fins may be used in diving, swimming,paddling and so on.

Further modifications and improvements may be incorporated withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention herein intended.

What is claimed is:
 1. Footwear comprising: a foot receiving portionhaving an open heel area; and fastening means for securing a user's footwithin the foot receiving portion, wherein the fastening meanssubstantially comprises a mechanical clamp, and one or more mechanicaltension links, and wherein the mechanical clamp is pivotally mounted andadapted to pivot between a first position and a second position suchthat in the first position the mechanical clamp is not encouraged bysaid one or more mechanical tension links to pivot toward the user'sfoot and is held clear of the user's foot, and in the second positionthe mechanical clamp is biased by said one or more mechanical tensionlinks to pivot towards and press against the heel of the user's foot,such that the foot is retained or secured within the foot receivingportion.
 2. Footwear as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clamp isoperable between the aforesaid first and second positions by the use ofthe user's other foot.
 3. Footwear as claimed in claim 1 consisting of aswimming fin.
 4. Footwear as claimed in claim 1 wherein said fasteningmeans is not associated with a lace, buckle or hook and loop fastener.5. Footwear for attaching to a user's foot, comprising: a foot receivingportion having an open heel area; and a mechanical clamp having abiasing member and operable between a non-securing position and aplurality of securing positions, wherein the mechanical clamp ispivotally mounted and in the non-securing position the mechanical clampis not biased by the biasing member toward the user's foot allowing theuser's foot to be inserted into and removed from the foot receivingportion and wherein when in one of the plurality of securing positionsthe mechanical clamp is baised by the biasing member to pivot towards aheel portion of the user's foot pressing against the heel portion of theuser's foot such that the user's foot is secured within the footreceiving portion.
 6. The footwear of claim 5, wherein no useradjustment is required to use different ones of the plurality ofsecuring positions.
 7. The footwear of claim 6, wherein the mechanicalclamp comprises a U-shaped contact surface that is pressed against theheel portion of the user's foot under the biasing force of the biasingmember.
 8. The footwear of claim 6, wherein the footwear is a swimmingfin.